As the 137th Open Championship got under way here in the rain at Royal Birkdale, the most successful British golfer of them all was reacquainting himself for the first time in 33 years with how it felt to just watch the event rather than to grace it. Nicholas Alexander Faldo contented himself with the idea that "it's a lot easier when there's not a scorecard in your hand".

Hmm. You couldn't help wondering if he might quickly find reason to amend that verdict. For having swapped his clubs for a notebook and pencil, this three-time champion found himself outside the ropes fretting about everything from Padraig's dodgy wrist to Sergio's dodgy temperament, wrestling with the probables, possibles and imponderables guaranteed to scramble the brain of any Ryder Cup captain.

What Europe's boss was keen to see here while "in observation mode" over the next four days was a battalion of impressive performances from his Valhalla contenders and, frankly, he sounded pretty bullish about the prospect of having his wish granted.

"I feel this week could be a great week for European golf," he declared at a golf writers' dinner here the other night, cooing about everything from Sergio Garcia's chances of "doing a Nadal" to Lee Westwood's "incredible consistency".

He also couldn't resist a gentle wind-up aimed at another guest, Brian Whitcomb, the president of the PGA of America, telling him: "My team is so strong right now, the Open champion is not even in it!"

Turning to Padraig Harrington, who currently lies outside the guaranteed selection places, the captain then joked that it was "just a very subtle message to Padraig to pull your finger out!"

The wisecrack couldn't conceal how this episode must be exactly the sort that Faldo now has to dread. For just as the injury to Luke Donald's wrist means one of his key players seems sure to be absent at the Louisville venue, his already difficult personal decisions - he has only two captain's picks to his US counterpart Paul Azinger's four, remember - could become ever more convoluted should a shoe-in like Harrington slip further beyond the automatic places.

So it was time this week if possible, Faldo felt, to really get to know others who were staking a claim to his attention for the first time. "Some guys I've never even met yet," he explained, which felt a fairly astonishing admission just a couple of months before Europe attempt to deliver a now familiar knockout in Muhammad Ali country. "Crumbs, if the team was selected right now, I could have half of them being rookies."

Actually, more than half if Faldo went with the current first 12 in the standings since there are seven who have never tasted action in the event which their captain will be able to tell them reduced his legs to jelly in a way that the pressures en route to winning six Majors never did.

It reminded him fondly about how he had once had to take a rookie called Lee Westwood under his wing back at Valderrama in 1997. Now 11 years on, Faldo couldn't help smiling, he was looking to that same kid to do a similar babysitting job for, say, an Oliver Wilson, Martin Kaymer or Ross Fisher.

One suspects Westwood would enjoy the role, such was the praise he heaped on these exciting candidates this week.

"I think the strength of European golf and these young players coming through is incredible," said Westwood. "These lads are fearless and they've become almost natural winners straight away."

Yet still Westwood, Justin Rose, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter were the main players charged with ripping up the one Faldo landmark he would be happy to see the back of - that of being known as the last Englishman to win the Claret Jug. Sixteen years is quite long enough, he reckons.

The Americans believe they have a bright answer to Europe's young guns in the shape of the much-touted Anthony Kim, but most observers across the Pond evidently accept that their team, which on current standings also has four potential rookies among its eight automatic selections, may not have the same strength and depth of quality as the Europeans.

Nor perhaps do they have the 'been there, worn-the-T-shirt' leaders like Westwood and Garcia. "Lee's going to have a very important role because he's our leading player right now," conceded Faldo. "He had a fabulous US Open which will give him the confidence boost to know he can survive the pressures."

As for the team's other totem, he felt a victory here for Garcia, who already owns the best points-per-match percentage in the competition's history, would make him even more of a force in Valhalla. "He has a great chance here and could take inspiration from Rafael Nadal's Wimbledon win," said Faldo.

The question remains, of course, exactly how much inspiration the contenders might take from Faldo himself, the man who rewrote all the Ryder Cup record books. Most appearances (11), most matches (46), most wins (23), most points (25) ... yes, it all demands respect but not necessarily the warmth and affection which enabled beloved captains like Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam to create a kind of winning family bond.

Faldo is taking the softly-softly approach here. "I don't want to bug 'em," he said. No, he just wanted to get his closest study yet of the strangers he may yet find himself having to adopt into his family.